Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions on the verge of collapse

On November 1, 2012, theIsraeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) distributed its monthly newsletter, which included a description of the NGO's "financial collapse."
According to ICAHD founder Jeff Halper, this was "due to
over-dependency on a few major donors...given the limited pool of
funders willing to step out and support such an outspoken group."

As a result of the
financial difficulties, ICAHD faces eviction from its offices, and
co-director Itay Epshtain (formerly of Amnesty-Israel) has announced
that he will leave the organization. Halper indicated that ICAHD would
focus on grassroots fundraising, as opposed to "applying to large and
bureaucratic donors."

ICAHD’s extensive difficulties demonstrate
the degree to which political advocacy NGOs are dependent
institutionally on what some funders refer to as “project support.”
Although these government donors often claim that their money does not
fund NGO salaries, travel, public relations, and offices, this is
clearly incorrect.

There's always a local angle. Here's local anti-Israel Activist Hassan Fouda,Board Director at ICAHD.. Hassan, an Egyptian, is posing as a Jew in front of the Oakland Marriott hotel, in an apparent attempt to "Jew -wash" the protest. We can only speculate if the new found austerity budget of the ICAHD will affect Hassan's frequent international travel.